'God protected us': Now 11 confirmed tornadoes, with property damage but no reported injuries
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of meteorologist Zachary Yack's name.
As property owners, township crews and municipal workers cleaned up damage from the previous evening's storms, meteorologists on Thursday confirmed at least 11 tornadoes battered the Chicago region.
Verified funnels touched down in or near Elgin, South Elgin, Barrington, Long Grove, Huntley, Streamwood, Carol Stream and Oswego, the National Weather Service said.
Two more hit parts of O'Hare International Airport. One traveled there from Itasca, while the other also blew into Des Plaines, the weather service said.
Another hit near Midway International Airport.
No injuries were reported.
In the Northwest suburbs, some of the worst damage came from tornadoes that whipped through neighborhoods in and near Elgin.
One funnel with peak winds of 100 mph touched down about 6:14 p.m. east of Route 47, according to the weather service. It headed east for 11 miles before finally lifting off west of the Villa Olivia recreation facility in Bartlett at about 6:36 p.m.
Among the damaged buildings in Elgin was the Northwest Bible Baptist Church, which lost part of its roof as clergy and members were preparing for a 7 p.m. service. A trailer was thrown around the back parking lot and damaged a car.
"It felt like the air got sucked out of the church when it hit," Assistant Pastor Joel Szwarga said. "God protected us all."
Nineteen homes along Stoney Creek Drive in Elgin's Edgewater neighborhood were damaged, with 10 sustaining "significant" damage, Kane County officials said in a news release.
Judy Richman's home was among them. Richman said she heard the tornado sirens but wasn't particularly worried until she looked out her window and saw things flying around her yard.
"Things were blowing and hitting and I felt my house shaking, and (I) started running for one of the interior bathrooms," she said. "The noise was awful."
The storm passed quickly, Richman said. She and her neighbors went outside to survey the damage and cried.
All the siding on one side of her house was gone. A patio door and the garage were damaged and had to be boarded up.
"It was overwhelming," she said.
Homes near Bowes and Randall roads in the same subdivision were damaged, too, according to the city's Facebook page.
Trees on Mission Hills Drive, Balmoral Drive, Harbor Town Drive and Annandale Drive in the College Green neighborhood were uprooted or damaged as well.
Elgin Mayor David Kaptain said repair permits will be fast-tracked and issued without the usual fees.
"We want to get people back in their homes as quickly as we can," he told Edgewater residents during a visit to the community Thursday. "We want to get your life back to as normal as possible."
In South Elgin, a tornado with peak winds of 85 mph touched down about 6:20 p.m. near McDonald and Crawford roads. It headed northeast for nearly 3 miles before lifting off around 6:25 p.m. near Hopps Road and Lisa Lane.
Little information was available Thursday afternoon about the Huntley tornado, but its destruction was evident.
With peak winds of 90 mph, it damaged the roofs of two apartment buildings near Timer Drive West and Douglas Avenue. Other buildings were hit by debris, and some houses suffered roof damage, the Huntley Fire Protection District said in a news release.
The American Red Cross was called in to assist people needing shelter.
A tornado with peak winds of 80 mph blasted the Chicago Highlands neighborhood near Barrington.
Some trees there lost limbs, while others were split by the force of the storm. Houses and fences were damaged.
The tornado in Long Grove had 70 mph peak winds, according to the weather service.
Trees were reportedly damaged in Carol Stream, Schaumburg and Hanover Park. The Portillo's in Streamwood was damaged, but all customers were safe, a spokesperson said.
In Carol Stream, trees struck a garage and a house near Western Trails Elementary School, Village Manager Bob Mellor said.
The number of confirmed tornadoes that have hit the Chicago area this year far exceeds the annual average.
Including Wednesday's tornadoes, the weather service has tallied at least 41 in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana so far in 2023. The annual average is about nine.
Incredibly, 22 of this year's tornadoes formed on March 31 alone, meteorologist Zachary Yack said. Others occurred in January, February, May and June.
• Daily Herald staff writers Eric Peterson, Susan Sarkauskas, Kevin Schmit and Rick West and the Shaw Local News Network contributed to this report.
The 11 confirmed twisters Wednesday
The National Weather Service on Thursday confirmed 11 tornadoes in the Chicago area, with the following EF scales, which estimate wind speed based on the damage. EF-0 is 65-85 mph gusts, and EF-1 is 86-110 mph gusts.
• Burr Ridge to Stickney (near Midway): EF-1
• Elgin: EF-1
• Huntley: EF-1
• S. Elgin: EF-0
• Oswego: EF-0
• Barrington: EF-0
• Long Grove: EF-0
• Carol Stream to Glendale Heights: EF-0
• Itasca to O'Hare Airport: EF-0
• O'Hare to southeast Des Plaines: EF-0
• Streamwood: EF-0